Crane drives



llllll H. BRANDT CRANE DRIVES @Jammu uunnllnn/ljm Aug. 28, 1962 Filed April 29, 1959 wk mw Filed April 29, 1959 H. BRANDT CRANE DRIVES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 um I ug. 28, 1962 H. BRANDT 3,051,326

CRANE DRIVES Filed April 29, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States This invention relates in general to drive mechanisms and in particular to a new and useful main motor drive mechanism for use in association with a crane having multi-drum operation for various sections of the crane including the grab-lift mechanism, the pull-in mechanism, the crane rotating and the vehicle transport or propulsion mechanism.

The invention is particularly applicable to an 1nternal combustion engine driven crane including the usual boom and associated lifting and control mechanism. The 1nvention provides a novel drive to operate a system of rrotating drums to eifect the desired motions of the mechanisrns enumerated.

Previous drives of this nature were nothing more than a series of take-offs from the main engine drive shaft. Such drives were diicult to mount, and remove for maintenance and adjustment, and the drives were unable to work independently of each other.

Some driving mechanisms including driving from the main engine via a central distribution ygear connected t the individual drive mechanisms have been proposed. Such drives include closed-in gear blocks which are positioned on the crane as separate units. The blocks are arranged alongside the drums which they drive and the individual lgear blocks are not interchangeable with one another.y With this type of drive all the individual blocks are connected to a common distributor gear for actuation. Such construction is not desirable for rapidly movable cranes, such as auto cranes which must move cross-country. For such a crane it is necessary that the propulsion or transport drive has additional clutches, switching and reversing connections in order to operate the transport gear at both slow and fast speeds in either direction.

In accordance with the invention a crane drive is provided in association with an internal combustion engine, particularly a diesel crane. The mechanism includes a multi-drive of two or more interchangeable cable drums. A distributor gear for the crane rotating and the vehicle transport or propulsion mechanism is incorporated with a switching gear whose olf-drive may simultaneously be the drive for an auxiliary gear of the transport mechanism and a distributor gear. For reversing the direction of rotation and disconnecting the crane driving mechanisms, except the transport mechanism, there are provided clutches connected with each other lying in a line perpendicular to the engine shaft and which maybe switched independently of each other. These clutches are connected to the gear drums on the driving side and through a beveled 4gear set-up to the individual drive mechanisms. Shafts connect each of the off-drives through the beveled gears and extend in respective two and three dimensional directions to the desired location for operating the various drum turning mechanism.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved auto crane driving mechanism including means for independently driving the grab-lift or lifting, the pull-in, the emptying and holding, the crane operating, the crane rotating `and the vehicle transport or propulsion mechanisms for any desiredvoptional requirement of the crane.

A further object of the invention is to provide a crane .driving mechanism in which the operating and switching mechanisms are centrally located and arranged to be driven by the main propulsion engine and including sepaatent rate take-offs for each of the drum turning mechanisms requiring operation in the crane.

`A further object of the invention is to provide a crane driving mechanism which is simple in design, rugged in construction, and economical to manufacture.

The various `features of novelty `which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained fby its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a top view of a diesel crane driving mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is `a sectional view, with parts broken away, of the mech-anism indicated in FIG. l, taken along Iline 2 2; and

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the switching and reversing mechanism taken in the direction of line 3*?, of FIG. l.

Referring to the drawings in particular the invention as embodied therein includes a main driving internal combustion engine M arranged to drive through a switching and reversing gear mechanism generally designated A, an auxiliary power gear mechanism generally designated B, and a crane-operating distributor gear mechanism generally designated C. The auxiliary power gear mechanism B is arranged to operate a vehicle transport or propulsion mechanism generally designated D.

The crane operating gear mechanism C is arranged to drive independently each of the following: an emptying and holding mechanism generally designated E, a grablift or lifting mechanism generally designated F, 4a pullin mechanism generally designated G, and a crane rotating mechanism generally designated H.

The lifting mechanism F, the pull-in mechanism G and the crane rotating mechanism H each includes a drum having built in driving mechanisms of the same general nature as that indicated at 68 for the emptying and holding mechanisms E (FIG. l). Each of these mechanisms E-H is connected -by means of its associated shaft to the crane operating mechanism C. Each of the shafts 67, 66, `65 and 64, leading to the respective mechanisms E, F, G and H, includes a beveled gear at its end adjacent the associated drum, comparable to the gear 72 for the mechanism E to be described more fully hereinafter.

The crane operating mechanism C is driven via a clutch 38 land a shaft '39 from the switching and reversing gear mechanism A. The mechanisms D and H have drums similar to drum 68 of mechanism E. Each of the drums D, E, F, G and H has equal dimensions and is mutually exchangeable. They are mounted in closed winch frames.

From these drums ropes or cables are run to the associated mechanisms for operation, for example, of a boom (not shown) for the mechanism F, and if necessary, they are first run over drums having reduction gears which provide for multiple reduction. The cables are run over the boom and connected to a lower block (not shown) which includes means for suspending a load, such as gripping jaws or the like. lf required, the drums can be used as Winches for advancing the vehicle or extracting it -from -a mud hole or rough terrain in those instances where the vehicle becomes stuck.

The internal combustion engine M has a main shaft 1 which is connected to one side of a fluid clutch 2. The disconnectable off-drive of the fluid clutch drives the switching and reversing gear mechanism A. Driving is from a drive shaft 3 of the clutch 2 through gears 5,

6 and 7 to an intermediate shaft 8. The shaft 8 is provided with a gear 9 at its opposite end which drives gear 10 mounted on a shaft 11. The driving connection between the clutch 2 and the shaft 11, via gears 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 as described, is disconnectable by conventional means (not shown). 4In `this condition, a switching and reversing gear 4 similarly driven by the off-drive 3 may be coupled to the gear 10 which is also connected to the output of said gear 4, as shown in FIG. 3. By this arrangement, the shaft 11 can be optionally driven either through the gear 4 or via gears 5, 6, 7, 9 and 19, in either rotational direction, or disconnected altogether. Shaft 11 is provided with pinions 12, 13, 14 and 15 which, respectively, drive underlying gears 16, 17, 18 and 19 respectively, which latter gears are slidably arranged on a switching shaft 20, which can be switched selectively. Each of the gears 16-19 has associated therewith a respective switching or coupling member 16a, 17a, 18a and 19a, slidably arranged (preferably by pairs, as shown in FIG. 3) on the shaft 20 and rotating in unison therewith. By means not shown but well known in the art, one of the gears 16-19 can be selectively coupled to the shaft 20, as indicated by the member 19a interconnecting gear 19 with shaft 20. Consequently, the gear mechanism A provides for a selectively connectable reduction gear between the shafts 11 and 20.

Shaft 20 is also provided with a beveled pinion 21 (FIG. l) which drives through a similar beveled gear V22 affixed to an olf-drive shaft 23, whose one side drives via a clutch 24 the gear mechanism of the auxiliary drive mechanism B.

The auxiliary power gear mechanism B includes an intermediate gear arrangement consisting of a gear 25 v31 aiixed to the shaft 28 and then to a gear 32 affixed to a shaft 35, or over the clutch 30 and through a gear 33 aixed to the shaft 29 and through a gear 34 affixed to the shaft 35. The shaft 35 drives via two resilient clutches l36 and 37 the vehicle transport or propulsion mechanism generally designated D.

The other lside of the off-drive shaft 23 goes to a switchable clutch 38 which connects to a drive shaft 39 of the crane-operating distributor gear mechanism generally designated C. In order to obtain two directions of rotation of the crane mechanism, there is provided a rst series of gears 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44, gear 40` being rigidly connected to the shaft 39, while the others are rotatable about, but not connected to spaced parallel shafts 45, 46, 47 and 48, respectively. The shaft 39 is also provided with a rigid driving engagement with) the gear trains 41-44 on one side, and 45-48 on the other. At any given moment, the clutch to be operated is Aconnected to one or the other of the driving gear pairs, so that rotation in one direction or the other is obtained at the respective output shaft.

A take-off from each of the shafts 45, 46, 47 and 48 is provided via bevel gear pairs 89 and 90, 91 and 92, 93 and 94, aswell as 59 and i60 (the gears 90, 92, 94

' and 60 being mostly hidden in FIG. l by upper gears 95,

97, 99 and I62. to be described hereafter). The gear 60 is I affixed to a vertical shaft 61 which has a bevel gear 62 at its upper end which drives, through a bevel gear 63 and a shaft 67, the emptying and holding mechanism E. The gears 90, 92 and 94 are all affixed to separate vertical shafts similar to shaft 61, which have respective upper level gears 95, 97 and 99, driving bevel gears 96, 98 and 100, respectively. Each of the various operating mechanisms are similarly connected to the switching and reversing gear C, as follows: the drive goes from gear 96 via a shaft 64 to the crane rotating mechanism H, from gear 98 via a shaft 65 to the pull-in mechanism G, a-nd finally from gear 100 via a shaft 66 to the lifting mechanism F.

The individual drives of the operating mechanisms D, E, F, G and H are all similar. In FIG. l the individu-al mechanism for the emptying and holding mechanism E is shown and it includes `a drum 68 which is hung via fastening flanges 69 -in a winch frame 70. One of the fastening flanges secures a case 7l in which a bevel gear pair 72 and 73 cooperate to drive a sun pinion shaft 74. On the outer end of the shaft 74 there is provided a brake disc 75 for coupling an external brake, if desired. On the other end of the shaft 74 there is provided a sun pinion 76. The case 71 forms with an inner toothed rim 77 and the iiange 69 a rigid bearing about which the drum 68 rotates. From the sun pinion 7 6- there are driven a plurality o-f planet gears 78 which are supported in the inner toothed rim 77. A sun pinion 8i) is carried by a cross piece 79 which is entrained by the planet gears 7 8. Two intermediate gears 81 which rotate about bolts 82 mesh with and rotate an inner toothed rim 83 which is connected with the drum 68. In the above-described arrangement, the system 74, 76-78 provides a planetary gear centered substantially in the longitudinal axis of the case 71. The output of this gear appears at the cross piece 79 carried by and rotating in unison with the gears 78. 'I'he system 80-83, in turn, provides a reduction gear since the relatively small pinion 80, carried by the cross piece 79, drives the relatively large inner toothed rim 83 of the drum 68 through the intermediary of the stationary gears 81.

The 4drive of the other drums for mechanisms D, F, G and H occurs in the same manner and the drums are interchangeable. F or this reason, only a schematic showing is given in the drawings.

The switching and reversing gear mechanism A, the auxiliary power gear mechanism B and the crane operating mechanism C are enclosed in their own gear block casings 85, 86 and S7, respectively. This arrangement permits easy accessibility of the operating mechanisms and there are no freely exposed gears where any dust might accumulate.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the invention principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is: l

1. In a transportable crane having grab-lift, emptying and holding, pull-in, rotating, and transporting mechanisms, the improvement comprising a main driving engine, a multi-step switching and reversing gear mechanism driven by said main engine and including two separate off-drives adapted to be rotated in either direction and at a predetermined number of torque/speed ratios, clutch means for each of said off-drives to connect and disconnect said off-drives as desired, an auxiliary power gear mechanism connected to one of said off-drives for driving -in either direction said transporting mechanism, and craneoperating distributor gear means connected to the other of said off-drives for individually driving in either direction any of said grab-lift, said emptying and holding, said pull-in and said rotating mechanisms independently from the operation of said transporting mechanism.

2. In a transportable crane, the improvement according to claim l, wherein said distributor gear means includes an output shaft extendable at an 1optional angle to each of said grab-lift, emptying and holding, pull-in and rotating mechanisms for independently driving each of said output shafts.

3. In a transportable crane, the improvement according to claim 2, wherein said distributor gear means is provided with two sets of driving gears, the gears of one set being rotated in a direction opposite to the corresponding gears of the other set, and clutch and gear means centrally disposed between said two sets of gears, for selectively driving said output shafts in one direction by the intermediary of said one set of gears and in the opposite direction by the intermediary of said other set of gears.

4. In a transportable crane, the improvement according to claim 2, wherein each of said grab-lift, emptying and holding, pnl-in, rotating, and transporting mechanisms are of identical interchangeable construction.

5. In a transportable crane, the improvement according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said mechanisms includes an exposed disc for applying an external, independent braking means thereto.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

